We left Tuesday morning with great excitement…. Adventure, discovery and warm weather awaited us in a border town called Phuentsholing…and we couldn’t be happier. This was what we were waiting for since we arrived in Bhutan.
We were warned that the road wouldn’t be easy… in fact we were told it was one of the toughest… but we were not phased as we were excited to continue on in our journey and see what Bhutan had to offer. But this road was tough, and long and at some points its seemed as if the road was haunted…. 
The farther we got the less exciting it became... I felt uneasy, a little scared, and began to wonder why we traveled so far in one day...? Despite the eerie roads we continued and I heard my boss humble.. "I should have listened to the monkeys..." I thought this to be strange, but concluded that since my arrival in Bhutan, most things haven been strange.... nonetheless, I decided to ask her what she was on about.... she told me that she spotted monkeys at the beginning of our journey ( I was still unclear as to the relevance)... she then told me that the monkeys she spotted were red faced monkeys... and that and old superstition says.. "If one sees red faced monkeys at the beginning of a journey, it should be taken as a bad omen...." (of course she didn't tell us this when it happened.... but would explain the hour of prayer and chanting she conducted shortly after the sighting!)...
After many hours of 'nail biting' and 'breath holding' we arrived in the dusty, industrial town of Phuentsholing. Phuentsholing is a ling is a thriving commercial frontier on the northern edge of the Indian Plains. Situated at the foothills of the Himalayas, Phuentsholing serves as the main trading town for the Bhutanese. There you can find traditional Bhutanese and Indian trinkets, textiles and food. Being from the city and preferring the hustle and bustle that India and alike has to offer, I was excited to finally be in Phuentsholing (alive!)... not to mention the fact that this town is surrounded by jungle like vegetation and the exoticism excited me....
India and Bhutan have some of the world's most porous, peaceful borders and this was evident as we looked at the border crossing gate... a constant flow of traffic going in both directions... we decided take advantage and crossed to spend the day in the Indian border town, Jaigaon.
Like Tsirang we were there to visit the GNH village and provide training to the local young volunteers. These youth were different from those in Tsirang and were clearly more urban... hairstyles, shoes and makeup set them apart from their rural colleagues. 
I must admit that I was slightly disappointed in Phuentsholing... the excitement that a town like this should offer was missing... although this could have been due to the recent curfew that was imposed in the city.... this is the other side, the unknown side of Bhutan and offers a great segway for my next entry.... "Traveling through Dangerous, Disturbed Lands". The border, although porous, poses a threat to Bhutan and the accessibility for Indian and Bangladeshi militants is increased... We arrived in Phuentsholing during a national holiday... on one side this is a time for celebration and patriotism... on the other hand it a prime time for anti- Bhutanese extremists to make their move... despite all this we found an underground karaoke bar that allowed you in as long as you would stay quiet enough that the cops couldn't hear.... we had fun and stayed long enough to realize our voices are just as bad in Bhutan than they are in Canada!
